[Ocaml-biz] ocaml-biz as a clearinghouse

[Brandon J. Van Every]

I see a differential between 3 concerns:

- projects that are strategically worth doing, if someone would but do
them
- projects we personally want to do
- projects ocaml-biz is capable of doing

Perhaps the point of ocaml-biz should be communication, not coding.  For
instance, we could create a clearinghouse of OCaml projects that we
believe could have a significant impact upon industry adoption of OCaml.
If such projects are absent, we could write position papers motivating
what's desireable to bring forth.  We could create a peer review system
for such papers, somehow.  http://www.igda.org does that sort of thing
for game industry whitepapers, I could ask about their process and
experiences.

I could certainly write that kind of paper about OCaml 3D engines, for
instance.  I don't know that I personally want to... I'm more inclined
to get a prototype going and just lead the project.  But, I certainly
see a 3D engine position paper as a tool for drafting labor to such a
project, once underway.  And, someone might co-author a paper with
someone who couldn't do the job themselves.  Like an artist's tool, for
instance.

I'm not shying from the idea of coding something.  I'm just saying, the
primary role of ocaml-biz may inevitably have to be communication.
Better packaging technologies are a form of communication, for instance.


Cheers,                         www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

"We live in a world of very bright people building
crappy software with total shit for tools and process."
                                - Ed McKenzie